When he left the sunset square, Hugo's heart was a little complicated.

The last time we met, Ernst accused Hugo of not writing a script for a long time, and then Hugo had some inspiration, but he didn't stick to it. From today's point of view, Ernst was actually asking Hugo for help at that time, but he ignored it. This reminded Hugo of the time when he wrote the script "Before Sunrise".

It can be said that Hugo began to write the script step by step under the guidance of Ernst, showing Hugo a whole new world. Not only did Hugo create the script, but also gave Hugo a new understanding of the storyline and character construction of the script. Later, Hugo was able to make a breakthrough in acting, and the overall situation and sense of the overall situation in this regard gave the necessary help.

But as Ernst said, Hugo was lazy, and his creative inspiration was worn out little by little in the storm of Vanity Fair.

Later, with the album "Storm" and the world tour, and then the performance of "L.A. Confidential", he is getting back on track little by little, but the screenwriting work is still in the dark corners. For Ernst, is Hugo guilty? Apparently not, more of an empathy.

In fact, Ernst is exactly the same as Catherine Hepburn and Paul Newman, who have experienced the peaks of their careers and the troughs of their careers, and at the end of their artistic lives, after being away from the spotlight, they went on different paths. Catherine returned to Broadway, Paul continued his career as an actor on the big screen, and Ernst waited quietly in Sunset Square next to Hollywood.

Because Ernst is different from Catherine and Paul, his lifelong screenwriting career has never really stood at the peak, as if ...... It's as if I've had a career all my life, but I haven't been officially recognized. That kind of loneliness and silence is something that others can't understand.

In Ernst's body, Hugo saw a shadow of himself - not the same trajectory, but the ups and downs and confusion of Hollywood Vanity Fair.

So, Hugo was going to write this script, and he didn't write it for Ernst, but he took inspiration from Ernst to create such a script for himself. Hugo wanted the male protagonist to tailor it for himself and sketch out a true story.

For the next period of time, Hugo focused on the filming of "L.A. Confidential" during the day, and when he returned home in the evening, he would start writing the script. This time, Hugo changed his approach, and he initially intended to create two characters, one male and one female, with the male protagonist naturally being a weirdo based on Ernst, and the female protagonist being set as an empathetic publisher editor.

But after writing thirteen acts, Hugo found the story unconvincing, not only old-fashioned - as if it were a deformed version of "Pretty Woman", but also the core idea was completely messy, and the heroine had no charm at all, like a vase.

For this reason, Hugo re-set the heroine, he thought about the type of friend turned lover like "When Harry Met Sally", and also thought about the type of letter romance like "Sleepless in Seattle...... But later he found out that these are all love story routines, and he really hopes to write a story about love, not because love can make people change, but because that kind of sincere emotion can bring people closer little by little, not necessarily love, maybe friendship or family affection.

After changing six versions of the heroine, Hugo felt that he had fallen into a dead end, and the script had a vivid and vivid male protagonist, but there was no good entry point at all. Luckily, Hugo now has enough control to distinguish reality from acting, and his understanding and control of Ed's character is absolutely convincing, so it didn't affect the crew's filming work, but even so, Charlize noticed Hugo's frustration.

Charlize gloated in the face of Hugo's deflatedness, "It's not common for Mr. Lancaster, who is rarely talented, to get into trouble." Hugo was helpless, but he couldn't refute it. After understanding Hugo's predicament, Charlize made a novel point, "I don't understand why you are always limited to two protagonists, a man and a woman, in fact, you can give the story more possibilities." ”

Hugo originally wanted to refute it, because most movies that explore the soul focus on the hero and heroine, but then I understood what Charlize meant, focusing on the hero and heroine, but not necessarily only the hero and heroine. The simplest example is the "Seven Deadly Sins", in fact, strictly speaking, the "Seven Deadly Sins" should be three male protagonists, and the inheritance relationship and antagonistic relationship between the two police detectives are maintained by a criminal, which is weird but has a mysterious triangular relationship.

The addition of any character can have many meanings, the most common is to break the fixed pattern between two characters, add more unknowns to an uncertain relationship, make the story exciting, and at the same time, increase the interaction and space between the characters, and give the screenwriter more room for in-depth discussion. This is also the reason why it is difficult to write a one-man show, because there is only one protagonist, and there is too little room to play.

So, if you join a character, how do you do it? What is his or her setting, what is the relationship between the character and the male and female protagonists, what role does it play between them, or what role does it play in the progress of the story.

As a result, there was such an interesting scene on the set of "L.A. Confidential". During the break, Hugo and Charlize were in the ...... regardless of the occasion or place Quarrel.

At the elevator door, Hugo rolled his eyes and complained, "For God's sake, join a killer?" That's a sign of your barren imagination, and please, you'll at least give me a spy to be a little more decent. Charlize next to him did not show weakness, "Haha, then it is very innovative to add a neuropathy?" "Hey! The male protagonist is a certain degree of neurosis, and they can know it because of mental illness or psychiatrist! "Do you think you're filming 'One Flew Over the Asylum'? What a genius! ”

In the gap between drinking water in the dressing room, Charlize spread his hands and complained speechlessly, "Imagination, give me a little bold imagination." Same. Sex. Love? That's your best idea? Why don't you write about a black gay man, or an Asian transgender person, that's what boldness! Hugo directly gave a middle finger, "I'm writing quirks, not seeds." Ethnic leather. Life, if I had to write, I would write about the enslavement of humans by artificial intelligence. The makeup artists next to him turned pale with fright.

In between the scenes, Hugo ran up to Charlize and said, "What do you think of adding a pet?" Like a puppy? Charlize looked at Hugo speechlessly, and he didn't need to speak at all to see his attitude, but Hugo's eyes widened, "I think it's a good idea for the puppy to be used as a bond for the hero and heroine to get to know." "So, you've given up on humans and chosen a puppy? Mr. Lancaster, you have really refreshed my understanding of the script. Wonderful! ”

During the process of Hugo, Russell, and Charlize talking to each other, Charlize suddenly stared at him, "What do you think of writing a neighbor?" Just live next door to this neurotic male protagonist? And then because of the neighbor's pet dog, there is a connection, a conflict, or something? Hugo pursed his lips and said sarcastically as he pondered, "So, besides the puppy, there is another neighbor?" Charlize directly raised his right hand and raised his middle finger at Hugo. Russell, who was standing next to him and speaking to the lines, opened his eyes as if he saw two monsters, and stood innocently and froze into statues.

……

Similar quarrels happen almost every day, although most of the time, both Hugo and Charlize are not conceived, because writing a script is not about writing a few characters, piecing them together and ending up; At the same time, it is not a simple story that connects several characters with no personality, even if it is a script. In a really good script, the characters and the story complement each other, and the personality and ideas are mutually reinforcing, even if there is no need to deliberately promote and elaborate, but the core idea can be revealed from the character setting, words and sentences.

Unlike "before sunrise", where all the issues are brought out and discussed directly on the table, Hugo hopes that this script will be full of wisdom, and different audiences can see different ideas in the story, as if it were a Rubik's cube.

Interestingly, however, Charlize inspired Hugo a lot during the writing of "Before Sunrise", and this time was no exception. Although most of Charlize's ideas were not feasible, and many of Hugo's ideas were shot and rejected by Charlize, in the process of discussion, Hugo gained a lot of inspiration, and his ideas became clear little by little.

Hugo felt that it was a good choice to add a character, which could be the next door neighbor of the male protagonist, and he was also an artistic creator - Hugo was still thinking about whether he was a painter or a photographer, and what was the special meaning of this profession, obviously it was not just a random choice, Hugo also wanted to establish a complete background for the story and integrate it with the story.

The reason why he chose the art creator is because this neighbor also has his own quirks, and his paranoia about art is often elusive, and he is also a colleague. Sex. Love - a group that was still completely marginalized in society in the early 90s, so he was also an outlier in society, and even though his work was talented, only a few people could appreciate it. Unlike the male protagonist, the neighbors often party, and he is surrounded by the crowd for a long time, but this noise does not make him feel self-identified, and the excitement makes his life seem more lonely and lonely - the emptiness after the party almost suffocates him.

Worse still, because he's the same. Sex. His parents are not willing to identify with him at all, and even regard him as a snake and scorpion, avoiding him, for fear that his identity will subvert their normal life. This makes him, like the male protagonist, live in isolation and helplessness in this cold world.

This is the resemblance of two people, very different, but the essence is incomparably close. Perhaps, it would be a good idea for a pet dog to become a bond between these two Antarctic and Arctic neighbors.